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Journey of the Barong Tagalog, Addendum Part 13.3: 19th Century Spanish Artist Illustrations of Life in the Philippines

The illustrations featured here are alternate colorations of Tipos Filipinos - Indios Elegantes. [Filipino Types - Elegant Natives.] (1872) by Francisco Ortego y Vereda and Tomás Carlos Capuz. Our descriptions of Ortego, Capuz and La Ilustración Española y Americana, the magazine that published this piece, are in our previous installment 13.2.

Tipos Filipinos - Indios Elegantes by Capus & Ortego. Featuring a native woman in a Maria Clara dress and native man in Barong Tagalog

The native woman on the left wears a Maria Clara dress, which is an aristocratic version of the baro’t saya (top and skirt). The sleeves are wide and loose to appear like angel wings or bells, which is where the butterfly sleeves of the terno are later derived from. The woman also wears a pañuelo (shawl) over her shoulders, upper back and chest. She wears what appears to be a tapis (skirt cover) over the top portion of her skirt. A tapis is generally much longer, covering most of the skirt. Perhaps the shorter length tapis is not to further disturb or distort the A line of the skirt. She holds a folded fan in her right hand and a cigarillo in her left hand.

Tipos Filipinos - Indios Elegantes by Capus & Ortego. Featuring a native woman in a Maria Clara dress and native man in Barong Tagalog

The native man on the right wears a Barong Tagalog made of diaphanous fabric with vertical stripe fabric panels, an angled checkered pattern probably dyed onto the fabric, and embroidery covering the pechera (front bib over the chest and stomach). He also wears dark slacks, slippers, and a western style hat. He holds a cigarillo in his left hand.

Both people depicted appear to be of the upper class by the quality and style of their clothing.